These chicken lettuce wraps contain ground chicken and veggies cooked in a savory sauce and served in cool lettuce leaves. A PF Chang’s copycat recipe that’s super easy to make and tastes just as good as the restaurant version!

I can never resist ordering chicken lettuce cups when I see them on the appetizer menu at my favorite Asian restaurant. They’re flavorful, yet light enough to be the perfect start to the meal. Serve your lettuce wraps with other Asian food recipes such as Spam fried rice, Buddha’s delight, Hunan chicken, Kung Pao beef, vegetable lo mein and potstickers.

Chicken lettuce wraps on a serving plate, garnished with green onions.

If you’re all about a quick and delicious lunch or dinner, these chicken lettuce wraps are quite satisfying. Made with light and healthy ground chicken, PF Chang’s lettuce wraps are even great for a party appetizer. Plus, they’re easy as can be which makes them even better!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Ingredients

Ingredients including ground chicken, vegetables, seasonings and a head of lettuce.

This recipe is made with ground chicken, mushrooms, vegetable oil, onions, sesame oil, butter lettuce (also known as bibb lettuce), hoisin sauce, water chestnuts, ginger, garlic cloves, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar and green onions.

How Do You Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps?

Place the vegetable oil in a pan or large skillet, then add the chicken. Cook the chicken and season it with salt and pepper. Next, add the mushrooms and onions to the pan, and cook until the veggies are tender. Stir in water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Make the sauce by whisking together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Pour the sauce into the chicken mixture, and stir to combine. Add a sprinkle of green onions, then spoon the chicken mixture into lettuce leaves and serve immediately.

Step by step shots showing how to cook ground chicken and vegetables and make sauce.

Tips For The Perfect Dish

  • Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory sauce that can be found in the ethnic foods aisle of most grocery stores. It is a critical flavor component of this dish and there is not a great substitute.
  • Choose ground chicken that is 96% lean for the best results. This is the ground chicken thighs blend, as ground chicken breast may be dry in this recipe.
  • The leftover chicken mixture will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store it separate from the lettuce in an airtight container.
  • Looking for a spicier option? Feel free to add some sriracha or red pepper flakes.
  • You can also serve the chicken mixture over a bed of lettuce as a main course salad offering for a different take on this dish!

Quick Tip

I find that shiitake mushrooms give this recipe the most authentic flavor. You can also use diced button mushrooms if that is what you have on hand.

Ground chicken in a pan with sauce and green onions.

Recipe FAQs

What are chicken lettuce wraps made of?

Chicken lettuce wraps contain ground chicken, garlic, ginger, onions, mushrooms and water chestnuts in a sauce of hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. The chicken mixture is served in lettuce leaves.

What goes well with chicken lettuce wraps?

When I serve this dish as a meal, I often do a side of steamed white rice. Asian style noodles would also be a great choice. You can also serve your lettuce cups alongside other Asian inspired appetizers such as egg rolls or fried wontons.

What lettuce is best for wraps?

I recommend using butter lettuce for wraps, as it has a sweet mild flavor and the leaves are naturally rounded into cups to hold all that great filling. Iceberg lettuce and romaine lettuce are other great options. For a more vibrantly colored dish, try red leaf lettuce.

How do you keep lettuce wraps from getting soggy?

It’s important to make sure your lettuce is very dry before you make your wraps. If the lettuce is wet, the moisture can make the filling soggy. I recommend using a salad spinner to get all the water off your lettuce. You should also only fill your lettuce cups at the last second right before eating, because they can get soggy if they sit for an extended period of time.

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A plate of chicken lettuce wraps with sliced green onions on top.

Flavor Variations

While this recipe is fabulous as-is, you can change up the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.

  • Protein: You can use ground turkey, ground pork or ground beef instead of chicken. If you’re a seafood lover, try using coarsely chopped shrimp.
  • Vegetables: Feel free to add other veggies to the mix such as shredded carrot, finely diced zucchini or chopped bell peppers.
  • Toppings: Finish your lettuce wraps with fun toppings such as sesame seeds, chopped peanut, sliced almonds, wonton strips, or crispy rice noodles.
  • Lettuce: Swap out the butter lettuce for romaine lettuce, cabbage leaves or iceberg lettuce.

I love how easy these chicken lettuce wraps are to make. I’ve served them at get togethers before and they always go over extremely well. I think people really enjoy a delicious yet healthier option when it comes to parties.

More Asian Inspired Recipes You’ll Love

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Video

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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.

4.99 from 68 votes

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

AuthorSara Welch
Chicken lettuce wraps on a serving plate, garnished with green onions.
These chicken lettuce wraps contain ground chicken and veggies cooked in a savory sauce and served in cool lettuce leaves. A PF Chang’s copycat recipe that’s super easy to make and tastes just as good as the restaurant version!
Time
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian
Serves 4

Ingredients 

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems discarded, caps finely diced
  • 1/2 cup onion finely diced
  • 8 ounce can water chestnuts drained and finely diced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/3 cup sliced green onions
  • 1 head butter lettuce leaves separated

Instructions 

  • Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until mostly cooked through.
  • Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
  • Stir in the water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 more minute.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil.
  • Pour the sauce over the ground chicken mixture and toss to coat evenly.
  • Sprinkle the green onions over the chicken mixture.
  • Spoon the chicken into the lettuce leaves and serve.

Notes

  1. Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory sauce that can be found in the ethnic foods aisle of most grocery stores. It is a critical flavor component of this dish and there is not a great substitute.
  2. I find that shiitake mushrooms give this recipe the most authentic flavor. You can also use diced button mushrooms if that is what you have on hand.
  3. Choose ground chicken that is 96% lean for the best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 604mg | Potassium: 935mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1350IU | Vitamin C: 3.7mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2.5mg

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So… I didn’t make the lettuce wraps. I used the sauce in a stuffed chicken/zucchini recipe, and it was *excellent!* I am now telling my friends to make the (5 tsp Hoisin sauce, 2 tsp of a. Sesame Oil b. Rice vinegar c. soy sauce) and put it on all kinds of stuff. Be sure to cook the main ingredient (chicken, zucchini, etc) w Garlic and Ginger to get the full flavor. Thanks “Dinner at the Zoo!.”

  2. Hello! I’ve been making this recipe for some time now. Today I didn’t have any ground chicken so I defrosted 2 lbs of chicken breasts half way, then cut them into little pieces. I made a double batch because the filling is amazing in an Asian chopped salad as well. Thank you for sharing it. I added a squirt of sriracha and some red pepper flakes. It’s fantastic!

  3. 5 stars
    I have been on a ground chicken kit lately. It’s actually cheaper to buy than ground beef, go figure. Anyway I search for a recipe and this one came up. So happy I tried it, it was delicious and can’t wait to make it again. I didn’t have mushrooms on hand (I love them, kids don’t), but I did throw in some chopped celery. Will put this in our rotation for sure!

  4. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner and immediately my husband goes, “This tastes just like PF Chang’s!” Spot on!

  5. 5 stars
    Just made this recipe only one word can describe this dish WOW, sooooo delicious: This dish I’m sure will be
    a weekly occurrence, my husband was amazed how good it was. We live in, Inland Spain & have no Chinese take away, so all your Asian recipes are becoming very very popular in our household. Thank you so very much for sharing your amazing recipes.

  6. What brand of hoisin sauce do you use? I was just wondering because there are so many different types and I’m sure the flavors vary a little bit.

  7. 5 stars
    These were great! Very delicious!
    I changed up the quantity of ingredients in the sauce a little bit. But I don’t think that made a difference in the deliciousness of this recipe 🙂,

  8. 5 stars
    There is no need to try any other chicken lettuce wrap recipe. This is the one!! We LOVE these things. This recipe is perfect!! Thank you so much!!

  9. 5 stars
    Just made theses lettuce wraps and they were amazing! Served with peanut sauce!
    This recipe is better than P F Changs!!
    Thank you for sharing !

  10. 5 stars
    This is the easiest and best chicken lettuce wrap recipe! My kids LOVED them, and that’s saying a lot. I think it was the first time my 5- and 7-yr-old said “YUM” throughout the entire meal. Thank you for the great recipe!

  11. 5 stars
    These are SO GOOD!!! Probably better than what I usually get from the restaurant! I am making them for the 2nd time tonight and doubling the recipe. It really goes far!